Spinning box hub



Feb. 12, 1952 H. J. M DERMOTT 2,585,148

SPINNING BOX HUB Filed Jan. 12, 1950 ll 16 WI INVENTOR. HENRY J MCDERMO TT Arron/v5:

Patented Feb. 12, 1952 SPINNING BOX HUB Henry J. McDermott, Collingdale, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application January 12, 1950, Serial No. 138,106

This invention relates to rotary spinning buckets for centrifugally collecting the filamentary product of a process for producing artificial yarn and particularly to the hub portions of such buckets.

Spinning buckets of the type with which this invention is concerned are conventionally supported on a vertical driving shaft which extends into a complementary bore within the hub of the bucket. The bucket hub is normally not secured or locked to the shaft and, although the shaft is rotatable within the hub, friction is depended upon to cause the bucket to rotate with the shaft. Wear of the shaft or hub is minimized by providing a viscous lubricant between the surfaces thereof. The viscous lubricant actually promotes the transmission of the .drive from the shaft to the bucket at the high rotative speeds at which the strand-collecting equipment turns.

So that the box may be instantly seated properly when placed on the shaft, radial holes drilled from the outer surface of the hub to the blind-end portion of the hub permit lubricant, air, or other material to escape that might be otherwise trapped adjacent the closed end-of the bore when the bucket is placed upon the shaft. The only lubricant which remains in the hub is a thin film determined by the clearance between the inner hub surface and the shaft. The assembly is customarily relubricated after each doii. The excess lubricant is squeezed out through th relief holes and collects to some extent on the outer surface of the hub. The outer surface of the hub when smeared with lubricant tends to collect any other dirt or material circulated within the turbulent atmosphere of a box compartment. According to the prevailing practice, dofling is accomplished by removing the bucket from the shaft and the spinning compartment, turning the bucket upside down and, when the cake does not drop out, bumping the bucket on its rim to jar the cake loose. During this manipulation, the bucket is most conveniently handled by gripping the hub. Grease or other material which may have collected on the surface of the hub may be transferred to the operator's hands and thereafter transferred to the package which is removed from the bucket during subsequent handling such as placing it on a conveyor. The package must either be stripped of its soiled yarn or washed by a special procedure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary strand-collecting bucket which is 3 Claims. (C1. 57-77) constructed so that lubricant or other unwanted material does not collect on the outer surface of its hub. Another object is to provide a spinning bucket in which there are no communicating passageways from the interior surface of the hub to its outer axially-extending surface. Still another object is to provide a bucket .hub in which there is storage space for lubricant. It is also an object to provide a bucket hub and a drive shaft which is insertable thereinto of a construction such that the bucket may be instantly positioned on the shaft without trapping air, lubricant, or other material in the bore of the hub adjacent its closed end. Other objects, features and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the drawing relating thereto in which Fig. 1 is an elevation view with portions cut away illustrating a bucket according to the invention vertically removed from a drive shaft on which the bucket is normally supported;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the hub of the bucket illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation view, partly in section, of a bucket hub and a modified drive shaft;

Fig. 4 is a top view of a drive shaft shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation View, partly in section, of a bucket hub and a modified drive shaft.

In brief, th invention concerns an apparatus for centrifugally collecting yarns comprising a rotary bucket and a drive shaftv or spindle extending into its hub in which one or more passageways extend axially within the hub-shaft assembly to permit air, lubricant, or other material which might otherwise be trapped in the closed end of the bore of the hub to pass to the entrance of the bore. The conventional radial holes extending to the outer surface of the hub from the inner end portion of the bore are eliminated.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated a bucket B witha section cut away to expose the interior of the hub 3 and the action of corrosive materials on the bearing surfaces.

However, to permit the box to properly position itself on the seating surface ll provision must be made for the escape of materials entrapped within the bore of the hub when a freshly lubricated bucket is placed on a driving spindle. To accomplish this, grooves I4 and I5 extend axially along the surface of the bore from the closed end thereof to the end surface I0. To eliminate the necessity for relubricating after each doif, an annular recess l6 may be optionally provided which extends around the inner surface of the hub. preferably alon a portion thereof approximately midway between the ends of the bore. This recess collects and retains lubricant which becomes trapped and is then expressed from between the end of the shaft and the end of the bore through the grooves I4 and I5 into the recess. Efllcient lubrication of the bearing areas is obtained by placing within the hub bore a quantity of lubricant which is preferably less than that required to fill the recess 16 so that lubricant is not forced out of the lower end of the hub to thereafter collect at the peripheral edge 11.

As an effective alternative arrangement, the portion of the drive shaft which extends into a bucket hub may be grooved and recessed as shown in Fig. 3 to provide an escape route for entrapped materials. Referring to the Figures 3 and 4, a

shaft 8a is provided with longitudinally extending grooves 22 and 23. Each. groove intersects and extends above and below an annular recess 25 cut into the shaft to receive excess lubricant. If desired, a recess 28 may be formed along the inner surface of the hub la. To effect relief for entrapped materials, a shaft for driving a bucket, such as shaft 8b may be provided as shown in Fig. 5 with an axially extending bore or inner passageway 28 which intersects with a radial passageway 29 formed in the shaft adjacent the end of.

the hub lb of a bucket 62) driven by the shaft lb.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for centrifugally collecting a strand comprising a spinning bucket having an axial bore terminating in an upper closed end, a drive shaft having a surface substantially complementary to that of the bore, at least one groove extending alon the surface of the bore from its closed end to its open end to form a passageway therebetween, and an annular recess formed in an axially intermediate section of the surface of the bore between its upper end and its lower end defining storage space for lubricant around the shaft.

2. Apparatus for centrifugally, collecting a strand comprising a spinning bucket having an axial bore terminating in a closed upper end, a drive shaft having a surface substantially complementary to that of the bore, at least one groove in the surface of the shaft extending from the end thereof adjacent the closed end of the bore to the lower end of the bore, and a circumferentially extending recess along an axially infermediate section of the surfaceof the shaft defining a storage space for lubricant between the hub and the recessed surface of the shaft.

3. Apparatus for centrifugally collecting a strand comprising a spinning bucket having an axial bore terminating in a closed upper end, a drive shaft having a surface complementary to that of the bore, at least one groove extending axially within one of said complementary surfaces from the closed end of the bore to the open end thereof, and an annular recess extending circumferentially about the shaft within an axially intermediate section of one of said complementary surfaces into communication with an axially extending groove.

HENRY J. MCDERMOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNI' I'ED STATES PATENTS 

